I guess she should have thought about that before hand. The mission of our military is to kill the enemy and break their stuff, not to provide daycare for those who expect that it should be like any other 9-5 job.

Vera

12-02-2009, 06:03 PM

The problem she is facing is the fact she DID have a plan for childcare in case she was deployed. Unfortunately, that fell through. The military is not too understanding, when it comes to family. As the saying goes, "If you were meant to have a wife (family/child/etc), you would have been issued one." Does this mean those with family shouldn't join the military? No, it doesn't, but it does mean those people will have to be more aware of the problems that will arise with your family, as a result of being part of the military.

because she has no one to care for her infant (10 month old) son and the military told her to put him in foster care.

SAVANNAH, Ga. – An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas.

Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, 21, claims she had no choice but to refuse deployment orders because the only family she had to care for her 10-month-old son — her mother — was overwhelmed by the task, already caring for three other relatives with health problems.

Her civilian attorney, Rai Sue Sussman, said Monday that one of Hutchinson's superiors told her she would have to deploy anyway and place the child in foster care.

"For her it was like, 'I couldn't abandon my child,'" Sussman said. "She was really afraid of what would happen, that if she showed up they would send her to Afghanistan anyway and put her son with child protective services."
Hutchinson, who is from Oakland, Calif., remained confined Monday to the boundaries of Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, 10 days after military police arrested her for skipping her unit's flight. No charges have been filed, but a spokesman for the Army post said commanders were investigating.

Kevin Larson, a spokesman for Hunter Army Airfield, said he didn't know what Hutchinson was told by her commanders, but he said the Army would not deploy a single parent who had nobody to care for his or her child.

"I don't know what transpired and the investigation will get to the bottom of it," Larson said. "If she would have come to the deployment terminal with her child, there's no question she would not have been deployed."

Hutchinson's son, Kamani, was placed into custody overnight with a daycare provider on the Army post after she was arrested and jailed briefly, Larson said. Hutchinson's mother picked up the child a week ago and took him back to her home in California.

Hutchinson, who's assigned to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, joined the Army in 2007 and had no previous deployments, Sussman said. She said Hutchinson is no longer in a relationship with the father.

The Army requires all single-parent soldiers to submit a care plan for dependent children before they can deploy to a combat zone.

Hutchinson had such a plan — her mother, Angelique Hughes, had agreed to care for the boy. Hughes said Monday she kept the boy for about two weeks in October before deciding she couldn't keep him for a full year.

Hughes said she's already having to care for her ailing mother and sister, as well as a daughter with special needs. She also runs a daycare center at her home, keeping about 14 children during the day.

"This is an infant, and they require 24-hour care," Hughes said. "It was very, very stressful, just too much for me to deal with."

Hughes said she returned Kamani to his mother in Georgia a few days before her scheduled deployment Nov. 5.

She said they told her daughter's commanders they needed more time to find another family member or close friend to help Hughes care for the boy, but Hutchinson was ordered to deploy on schedule.

Larson, the Army post spokesman, said officials planned to keep Hutchinson in Georgia as investigators gathered facts about the case.
"Spc. Hutchinson's deployment is halted," Larson said. "There will be no deployment while this situation is ongoing."

___ Russ Bynum has covered the military based in Georgia since 2001.

EireEngineer

12-06-2009, 10:06 AM

Exactly my point. Its not the military's responsibility to coddle her. She knew exactly what the expectations were should the unit get deployed, and if her plan fell through then she should have had a backup. Failing that, she should just accept getting chaptered out and let someone take her place that is capable of meeting the requirements of the job.

Vera

12-06-2009, 12:35 PM

I cannot disagree with you there. The military is not for everyone and is extremely difficult for a single parent. Most people wind up not lasting too long in the military if they are said single parents. It's not saying you're a failure by leaving the military, either. It's deciding taking care of your children is more important to you than staying in the military.

Exactly my point. Its not the military's responsibility to coddle her. She knew exactly what the expectations were should the unit get deployed, and if her plan fell through then she should have had a backup. Failing that, she should just accept getting chaptered out and let someone take her place that is capable of meeting the requirements of the job.

EireEngineer

12-06-2009, 04:14 PM

Agreed. The two things are mutually exclusive.

samsamsonsoy

12-07-2009, 06:10 PM

The military is really designed for gay men. They should be the only ones sent into harms way for the tyrannical, treasonous queers (and pedophiles) who have hi-jacked this countrys' government. I support no heterosexuals in the military.

I posted this story to depict the trials and tribulations of those who serve in the military and, as you can see, by the comments posted on this thread by members of this forum, they have taken this opportunity to bash a woman who serves in our military.

Obviously, they are not members of the armed forces.
Obviously you never were in the armed forces or you would understand that it is not a profession well suited to individuals that have children irresponsibly and then expect the military to let them slide on their contract. I personally had a female soldier do almost the same thing, and she was sent back to the block so fast her head was spinning. As well she should have.

EireEngineer

12-08-2009, 05:33 PM

Still on that tired old one huh? I will have you know that I was a 31U20 and a 12B20 in the 16th Engineer Battalion. What branch did YOU serve in? Huh?

EireEngineer

12-09-2009, 06:33 PM

Serving in the military, whether you did or did not, doesn't make you better than anyone else.

I didn't serve in the military, but I served my country as a youngster when I was incarcerated in MKULTRA/Project Monarch, a CIA trauma-based mind control program where I was abused by military personnel and other elements within our government and continue to serve my country as an adult in other ways.

The operative word would be that I'm an OPERATIVE, but in no way, shape or form would the acronym CIA proceed the word OPERATIVE.

So, what did this female soldier do to you personally that was similar to the woman in the article?

Can't answer a simple question?

Didn't think so.
Sure you were in MKULTRA. As for the soldier, are you having a hard time with reading comprehension? I never said she did anything to me personally...besides endagering our operational capability with her irresponsible behavior. That, specifically, why I recommended her for removal from service.

magneeto

12-10-2009, 12:30 AM

To many people don't fit there jobs they get them for money mayby. and consider nothing else.
Paperwork puts me to sleep, accountants make lots of money should I have been an accountant so I could make money and sleep at the same time?
electricians are tall and plumbers are short, wy have a short electrician that can't reach anything without a ladder or a plumber that's always on disability with a bad back.
Or send a mother to war when we all know she's the only one that can properly love her child. F&ck is that what happened to your pupet president obama maybe.
knowing that the americans are fully aware that some day the way they're going there gonna be useing their armies against their own people. Wy don't you guys just all stay home and save the planet by not burning up all that fuel. and all that lead all over owr precious soil. Or do we care enough to use the new lead free bullets in someone elses country.
Cause you know the saying allways leave it a little better than you found it.

OOPs I forgot you don't think like that do you.

magneeto

12-10-2009, 01:27 AM

blue angle respect is something earned not EXPECTED and when your a pupet of someone elses greed and do not allow yourself to get all the facts befor you jump on someone elses band wagon to make money I say don't bother using the word again.
And wy call yourselves a member of owr nations national defence, when your using it all as offence.
Would you shoot a member of your own country if a government member told you too even thow the little voice inside of you is screaming no, What? you don't have one. Being a helpfull sharing hard working compationate person, I am willing to share mine with you.
Watch the obama deception on you tube you might find one there. Or maybe start going to church but not the ones the bush family attends, You don't have enough money to hang with that gang anyway.

EireEngineer

12-10-2009, 11:35 AM

So, Mr. Tough Guy, was this female soldier, who did almost the same thing to you PERSONALLY as the soldier in this article, removed from service due to your recommendation?

What happened to her after she was sent back to the block so fast her head was spinning?

Care to respond, Mr. Tough Guy?

Didn't think so.
Saying "didnt think so" at the end of a post makes you sound like a petulant child, which you arent far from I suspect. Yes, both her Article 15 and the subsequent Chapter 13 were at my recommendation, though it really falls to the officers as to how things progress from there.
As for what happened to her afterwards, I suspect that she went Back to Mtn Home Arkansas, bought a trailer and a deep fryer, and worked at the Piggley Wiggley. Who knows. Once she was out of my platoon she was really someone else's concern.

EireEngineer

12-10-2009, 11:41 AM

I was a imprisoned against my own free will in MKULTRA/Project Monarch.

Courtesy of the CIA.

Eire said:

"I PERSONALLY had a female soldier do almost the same thing, and she was sent back to the block so fast her head was spinning. As well she should have."

Obviously, I don't have a problem with reading comprehension.

You never said she endangered your operational capability with her irresponsible behavior.

You said that a female soldier did almost the same thing to YOU PERSONALLY as the woman in the article.
.
No, I did not say she did anything to me personally, I said that I personally (as in an anecdote that in fact happened to me) had a solder who also got pregnant with no plan for caring for the baby. So again, either your reading comprehension is poor, or you are willfully attempting to twist my words (as we know you love to do) in a vain attempt to strengthen your weak argument.

EireEngineer

12-11-2009, 07:55 AM

I don't twist words.

YOU said that a female solider PERSONALLY did almost the same thing to you as the woman in the article.

My reading comprehension is impeccable.

There is no argument.
NO, you still dont understand the difference. I never said she did anything personally to me, I said that I too had a female soldier that got knocked up with no plan and no father in the picture. There is a big difference between that and how you are trying desperately to characterize my statement.

EireEngineer

12-11-2009, 08:02 AM

We all know I'm not a petulant child irregardless of whether I end a post with "didn't think so" or not.

Nice description of what you suspect the female soldier is doing now.

I'm sure she appreciates your kind words.

Obviously you have a problem with trailers, deep fryers, women and someone making a living working at a Piggley Wiggley.
No I dont, but I have been to western Arkansas, and that is about all there is for options there. I do have a problem with people trying to make excuses for someone's irresponsible actions that jeopardize the operational effectiveness of our soldiers who are already having a hard enough time. There are a few things that should happen to the woman in your original article. First, she ought to receive a field grade Article 15 so she can have lots of fun doing extra duty. Second, she should be court martialed for disobeying a lawfull order. Third, I wouldn't even Chapter 13 her, I would send her back with a dis-honerable discharge.

Vera

12-11-2009, 10:18 PM

I do not know if you are placing me in with this group you are stating, but, if you are, let me clarify something for you. I have dealt with the military for most of my adult life. I joined the army back in '89. I married my ex-husband while he was in the military. My current husband is a veteran as well. Both he and I are members of a military support group. We have a ton of friends that are stationed over in Iraq and Afghanistan currently, along with many other places. Do not start to presume people have no clue what is happening regarding the military because of their stance in a post. You will find yourself to be quite mistaken more than you are correct. The point I was making is it is a difficult job to be a single parent in the military. You cannot truly do the job you were meant to do if you are a single parent. I know many who either wind up becoming single parents due to getting pregnant, a divorce, or a death of a spouse while in the military. Almost all of them wind up getting out of the military once that happens. I sympathize with that woman, but she also should have known it would happen. The military does not have too much leeway for family. That's just the way it is, and anybody that has dealt with the military would know this firsthand. Family are basically a side interest, as far as the military is concerned. I wasn't kidding when I stated in a previous post that the general belief is, if you were meant to have a family the military would have issued you one. *shakes head* I am not putting the military down. I am not putting that woman down. I am just stating facts. It is a difficult job to be part of the military in today's age.

I posted this story to depict the trials and tribulations of those who serve in the military and, as you can see, by the comments posted on this thread by members of this forum, they have taken this opportunity to bash a woman who serves in our military.

Obviously, they are not members of the armed forces and have no respect for those who are.

EireEngineer

12-13-2009, 09:35 AM

Good. Sounds like we are all on the same page then.:D

Vera

12-15-2009, 12:04 PM

I definitely agree with you there. What really upsets me is seeing all of these people putting down our soldiers because they don't believe in whatever is taking place, at the moment. People do not realize those in the military do not have a choice. Some would say they do. They can say no and then either be arrested or discharged. Those people don't realize just what that can do to a person's reputation, when it comes to trying to get a job out in the real world. *shakes head* Then, for people to say the military needs to have its benefits cut because they make too much, overall, compared to everybody else. Yet, a great number of our military is on welfare. I'd like to see how that would happen, if they make too much. Knowledge of what our military goes through is sadly lacking among many of the populace, and it really gets on my nerves to see people make stupid remarks that affect our military in some fashion. They experience things most of us would never even be able to imagine. They, and their families, go through hardships...year-long or more separations, sometimes with little or no word regarding how the soldier is doing, dependent upon the job the person has in the military...let alone smaller things such as plans being thrown aside because the post is suddenly on complete lockdown or the like. *shakes head* My thoughts and prayers are always with our military. My appreciations and thanks goes out to every member, present or past, for all they've sacrificed to ensure my family, friends, and me remain safe with the freedoms we have. Please, tell your son my husband and I are very grateful for him doing what he does and that we support him and all that are with him.

Vera said:

"Family are basically a side interest, as far as the military is concerned. I wasn't kidding when I stated in a previous post that the general belief is, if you were meant to have a family the military would have issued you one."

My point exactly and the reason I posted the article.

I have no beef with you Vera or anyone who serves in the military.

My son is a Marine.

Our military men and women should KNOW that the American people hold them in the highest regard for all of that they sacrifice whether or not we support the wars that our government finances and those in which they are deployed.

They do that which they enlisted to do.

To protect, honor and defend the American people with pride and dignity.

They deserve no less from the American people.

Protection, honor, pride and dignity.

Algebra

12-21-2009, 08:19 AM

Theres a sying used by militarys all over the world.

Proper Preperation Prevents Piss Poor performance. I agree with Vera.

She should have forseen this eventuality and made preperations for it. It is her responsability after all. Although i think the military could have shown a little understanding and come to some compromise.

EireEngineer

12-21-2009, 06:04 PM

Theres a sying used by militarys all over the world.

Proper Preperation Prevents Piss Poor performance. I agree with Vera.

She should have forseen this eventuality and made preperations for it. It is her responsability after all. Although i think the military could have shown a little understanding and come to some compromise.
My experience tells me she was probably a lower enlisted person, and at that age people are pretty immature. That being said, if she had planned properly for this then the military would have most likely worked with her and found her a read detachment position or some such. The fact that she wasn't granted such an assignment tells me that she probably prevaricated and procrastinated until the last minute and then got upset about the upcoming deployment. That transgression is double considering it seems she was a cook.

pyhcobabble

12-31-2009, 03:13 PM

humm, sounds like very challenging times for this nation. less taxing, less spending, less government and more freedom is the key.The individual sees right through the liberties and problems that face our being. one for all and all for one. What is the solution?

EireEngineer

01-01-2010, 09:36 AM

Wow...you do babble huh? There is no one solution to any of are nations woes.

EireEngineer

01-06-2010, 07:31 PM

No, all of those were apt generalizations.

EireEngineer

01-06-2010, 11:51 PM

Only when its applicable to the discussion. Generalizations are no less accurate by default just because they are broad.

Pruner Man

01-31-2010, 10:03 PM

ha ha lot of sniping here
the woman should have been exempted- who needs another parental love deprived kid in our society
so she fkd up some what- and the military hasnt?
NATO!!
incoming:(